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Teen Vogue
Teen Vogue is a sister publication magazine to ''Vogue'', however it is targeted mainly towards teenage girls instead. Melanie Martinez has done two interviews with them. Interview #1 Twenty-year-old The Voice alum, Melanie Martinez, is a total beauty girl. Sure, many singers have their own unique look, but Melanie experiments with major color all day, every day (we’re talking multi-hued strands, neon lipstick, and pigment-packed brows — in every color of the rainbow). And we can’t get enough. Tomorrow, the songstress’s debut album, Cry Baby, launches, and with it, she’s collaborating with mega-fun makeup brand, Lime Crime, to release a shockingly bright blue lipstick with the same name. We wish all albums dropped with corresponding cool lip colors — what a world that would be. We caught up with Melanie to get the 411 on her sound, her beauty philosophy, and why being a cry baby isn’t such a bad thing after all. Melanie exudes individuality and confidence with a self-described feminine and playful style, but she hasn’t always been so sure of herself. “This album tells the story of a character — Cry Baby. She’s super insecure at first, and then she becomes more confident and comfortable in her own skin,” Melanie explains. “Before I wrote this album, I was so insecure. I took everything personally. I used music as therapy and embraced being a cry baby.” Instead of a cry baby being associated with negative vibes, Melanie has decided to switch it up. “I turned it from an insult to a compliment,” she says. The album is set up as a storybook (it actually is packaged as an IRL fairytale, complete with illustrations) — taking you through Cry Baby’s different stages of life. “She’s basically me, but more exaggerated and a little darker. The songs have childhood-themed names, but they relate to adult situations. I wrote about scenarios that I was going through and then disguised them,” Melanie says. And because Cry Baby obviously, well, cries a lot, Melanie captured her tears in lipstick form with her friend Doe Deere, Lime Crime’s CEO. “I texted Doe because Cry Baby just sounded like a lipstick they would make,” says Melanie. “Me and all my friends love their eccentric colors, and this blue is a perfect addition to the line,” she explains. “Once you've dared to wear blue lipstick out in public, you're never going to be the same: it forces you to step out of your shell and carry yourself with confidence. I hope to embolden women through Lime Crime to be their most authentic, unabridged selves,” says Deere, on why this collaboration makes perfect sense. For Melanie, playing with her look is another way to tell her story. And she doesn’t just limit the rainbow spectrum to her hair (like so many celebs these days). “I change my eyebrow color every single day,” the singer says. She’s able to do this with the help of Lime Crime shadows. “They stay on for so long,” she says. For her upcoming tour, she’s planning on piling on pastel extensions and going all out. “I love seeing people at my shows wear crazy, cool makeup,” she says. Although Melanie has been through quite the journey already, we have a feeling this is just the beginning for the talented young singer. We can’t wait to see what’s next for both her music and her amazing lip color adventures. Pre-order Lime Crime Lipstick in Cry Baby (out August 17th) on their site, now! Interview #2 Melanie Martinez is a new kind of pop star — and she's here to stay. After graduating from The Voice in 2012, the 21-year-old has stayed busy since the reality show. She released her debut album Cry Baby in August of 2015 and has been touring the world ever since. Not only has Melanie written every song on her album, but she also created, directed, styled, and even edited all of her own music videos, which tell the unique story of her alter ego Cry Baby in the most twisted, chilling, yet candy-coated, way possible. Not only that, but she's juggling multiple jobs to make the world of Cry Baby come to life the best way possible — she just announced her first perfume (aptly called Cry Baby Perfume Milk) on Tuesday, and is hard at work on her next album. Teen Vogue caught up with Melanie to talk about her unique sense of style and how she grew up, and how her experiences influence her music. Cry Baby may have thrown her own pity party, but Melanie has every reason to smile. Teen Vogue: Cry Baby came out a little over a year ago. Did you expect it to be as popular as it was? Melanie Martinez: It was interesting! the time, I was really inspired by toy sounds and that’s really what sparked the album. And again, I was experimenting and having fun and growing. I was definitely very surprised with the feedback and the support and the amount of people who are connected to the music that would come to the shows and sing every single word. It’s really special to me because I poured my heart into the music and the art and I’m just grateful that there are people listening. TV: Do you have a favorite song from the album? MM: Personally, “Mrs. Potato Head” because it was really hard to write and it took a couple of tries. I had the idea for the title for a while and that’s kind of the visual I’ll usually start off with. My biggest thing was, especially for women, it was so important for that song to portray embracing who you are and loving yourself. Mrs. Potato Head is a character, you’ll see in the video that’s coming out soon. I directed a couple of videos recently, one for “Pacify Her” and one for “Mrs. Potato Head.” I have one more left for this record and then I get to move on to the next album which is exciting. TV: The music video for your 2014 single “Dollhouse” was ultimately fan-funded and you made the music video with your friends. How did that come about? MM: “Dollhouse” was the first song that sparked visually where I knew exactly what I wanted to do a music video. I had a bunch of friends who were helping out with it, and I raised about $10,000 in a week on Indiegogo. It was really special and crazy. I didn’t expect that much support or help and I’m so grateful because that’s what started everything. TV: You do everything for your music videos, from directing to styling to editing. What inspired you to be so hands-on? MM: Yeah, in the beginning, I was very sure of what I wanted and it was really hard for me to work with other directors. I tried it for 2014 singles “Dollhouse” and “Carousel,” and then after that, I couldn’t do it anymore. It was really hard to receive input from another person when I knew exactly what I wanted it to be already. I’m really stubborn and I’m okay with that. So I wanted to learn how to do it myself, and eventually I got more comfortable being more vocal on set and now I feel comfortable directing, which is nice and fun. TV: Your song “Pity Party” samples Leslie Gore’s “It’s My Party.” What is the process of sampling and taking inspiration from different time periods? MM: I mean, I only wear vintage clothing. I’m pretty obsessed with things in the ‘60s, like fashion and music too. There was a lot of important music that came out at that time, so it was definitely fun sampling that song because it was one of my favorites. TV: Your hair is also a hallmark of your look — what inspired you to dye it two colors? MM: When I was 16, I was watching 101 Dalmatians and my mom never let me bleach my hair, so I told her I was going to dye my hair like Cruella De Vil; she didn’t believe me. I came home with my hair like this and she didn’t talk to me for like a week. It was really hilarious. But I feel like that was when I was figuring out who I was and when I was 16, I was growing. Even now, I’m obviously still growing every day and figuring out more of what I like, what I don’t like. It’s all about experimenting. TV: What was life like when you were growing up? MM: My parents were super strict, so I didn’t have a lot of freedom to hang out at parties or anything like that. I didn’t get invited, and I didn’t have many friends. I had one best friend my entire life; still to this day, she’s my best friend. So basically all I did was stay home and paint and write music. I taught myself how to play guitar and instruments; I just had fun creating since I wasn’t allowed to go out. I just did that instead. TV: What would you say to these kids who are trying to find themselves and carve their place in the world? MM: I would say to really just go with your gut feeling, and if you want to wear something, try it out. Even if you’re scared to wear a certain color lipstick or wear your hair a certain way, if you want to do it, you should definitely try it — even if the people around you are telling you look stupid. I think it’s all a part of growing up and finding yourself, you kind of just have to experiment. TV: You appeared on The Voice in 2012. So much has happened since then, but did you learn anything from that experience that has helped you in the long run? MM: I learned a lot about what I wanted. When you’re 16, you’re finding yourself and experimenting and all I knew was my home in Long Island. I wrote songs in the bathroom by myself. I would lock myself in my room to write and create. I wanted to show other people what I was doing. I was too scared to sing in front of my parents and I didn’t really watch The Voice. I just went out on a limb and went for it. (I did an open call in the city and almost didn’t make it to the actual open call because the car broke down.) I didn’t expect to get as far as I did. I was really in love with songwriting and I think the hardest part about being on that show was that I had to sing other people’s songs; I didn’t feel comfortable doing that so I’m just happy I get to write my own music now. TV: Can you tell us anything about your new album? MM: I’m really into concept albums so the record I’m going to put out next year follows character of Cry Baby and her story in the town that she lives in; it goes from the beginning of her time there to the end in order, from tracks 1 to 13. Cry Baby album was inspired by her family life and the way she was feeling at home, in her environment, in her room. new album is like Cry Baby stepping out of her house and entering this place that we’ve all been. Right now I have one more song to write, and a couple of bridges complete — finishing touches and little details here and there. TV: When do you think the new album could come out? MM: Sometime next year. I’m really not sure. I still want to make it the best that it could possibly be. I have four months off so I can figure out the details. I don’t want to half-ass it. It’s been a little bit that I’ve been sitting with the record and I still have a couple things to finish and write so I don’t want to put a time stamp on it now ‘cause then people would be like "It’s coming out this time!" Category:Magazines Category:Interviews Category:2015 Category:2016